Moctezuma's Headdress

Aztec feathered headdress, reproduction. Original: early 16th century, quetzal, cotinga, roseate spoonbill, piaya feathers, wood, fibers, amate paper, cotton, gold, and gilded brass

Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Beth Harris, "Aztec feathered headdress," in Smarthistory, August 10, 2015, accessed March 20, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/feathered-headdress-aztec/.


The headdress of Moctezuma is an object that has affected many people and shows the beauty that came from the hands of Aztec people. Hernan Cortez noticed its beauty like many others and decided to have it sent it over to Spain after he defeated the Aztecs. He found lots of beautiful feathered objects and was overwhelmed by how many there were, as there was nothing like it in Spain, he wanted to introduce the special artwork for the people of Spain to enjoy. Headdresses like this were often used as tribute items that were sent back to the capitol. This also included things like cacao, textiles and many other things which shows the long distance trade that was paved in the Aztec empire and everything was always sent back to Tenochtitlan, the capitol. The headdress was most likely part of a costume as we can see in figures in Aztec artwork. They used these costumes for important rituals, dances and performances. And costumes were very important to the Aztecs as well as many other Mesoamerican cultures. The headdress is not confirmed to have even belonged to Moctezuma, but it came from the region of Tenochtitlan and was made by highly regarded feather workers.  The headdress bounced around throughout Europe after Cortez had sent it to Spain and when the director of the first Austrian museum of natural history was trying to figure out what he wanted displayed in the museum he found Moctezuma's headdress in the Archduke Ferdinand’s former residence in Innsbruck, Austria, Ambras Castle and it is still in Austria to this day. There has been some debate about whether the headdress should be returned to Mexico, but the Austrian officials don't want to send the headdress to Mexico for fear of destroying the fragile artifact. They also allow for Mexican citizens to have free access to the piece already in Vienna with a Spanish version of the catalog so they are still able to visit it. Many people still believe that that isn't enough and that the headdress of Moctezuma should be still be returned to its home in Mexico, where it belongs. The headdress is so rich in culture that it's almost an insult to keep it from its home country for the people there to enjoy their history.

Comments

  1. Ashley MMarch 24, 2021 at 4:43 PM

    For some reason, I get the feeling that Cortez was a villainous character. I really like your paper for this reason and because it was clear and concise. You were able to break the topic into parts that made sense. If you split the piece into two or three paragraphs, then it would read even better. Good job overall!

    I think it is terrible that as a global community we are still denying people the rights to their native culture by keeping artifacts in distant lands. We are better than this.

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